Anger

We all have emotions for a reason and it is important to note what the emotion of anger is used for and what it is trying to tell us.

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Understanding anger

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Anger is an emotion used to take action or change something. It gives us the drive to act. This can sometimes get out of control and start causing problems in life with relationships and work this may even go as far as getting in to trouble with the law for some people. It is important to learn healthy techniques to manage your anger as long-term unresolved anger can be linked to health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease, anxiety and depression.

Anger is different for everyone and everyone has different things that make them angry. What one person might get angry about might not bother another person at all. However, there are some common things that make a lot of people angry;

• Feeling threatened or attacked

• Being interrupted when you are trying to get something done or trying to achieve a goal.

• Other people not respecting your authority, feelings or property.
• Being treated unfairly and feeling powerless to do anything about it.

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Anger can also be part of grief and dealing with loosing someone close to you.

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Dealing with anger

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What we do with this anger and how we react too feeling angry depends on different factors; such as the situation, your family history and events in your past.

This develops in to the way we express this anger. Some people get angry and express it verbally such as shouting, swearing or name calling. Others may react violently physically hitting other people, pushing or braking things.

Some of us are more passive about our anger, for example, we might ignore people or sulk. People who have this more passive style of dealing with anger may hide their anger or turn it against themselves because they feel unable to express this anger. People who turn their anger inwards may be likely to self harm as a way of coping with the intense feelings.

It is important to look at this and understand our anger for ourselves and perhaps learn to channel and use this emotion to make a positive difference in our lives. This is where a therapist can help as it can be difficult to see a way out or understand our anger when we are in the moment and feel overwhelmed by emotion.